Should my younger child still pursue CS after seeing this job market?

If your older child has struggled to find an IT job, it's completely natural to look at a younger child choosing their path and think: maybe they should avoid this. That protective instinct makes sense. But decisions made in reaction to one painful experience often overcorrect — and steering a younger child away from a field that might genuinely suit them, based on a hard moment for their sibling, can be its own mistake. Here's how to think about it more clearly.

One struggle is a data point, not a verdict

Your older child's difficulty is real and worth learning from — but it's a single data point, shaped by their specific situation, timing, and preparation, not proof that IT is closed. Markets have tough phases; individual experiences vary enormously based on direction, skills, and a dozen personal factors. Reading "my older child struggled" as "the field is a dead end for all my children" over-generalises from a sample of one. The honest lesson is usually narrower and more useful.

The real lesson: prepare differently, not avoid

When you look closely at why a capable older child struggled, the lesson is rarely "IT is finished." It's usually "the old way of preparing for IT no longer works" — the degree alone isn't enough, direction matters, adaptability matters, understanding the changed market matters. That's a lesson about how to prepare, not whether to enter. Applied to a younger child, it doesn't say "avoid CS"; it says "if they pursue it, prepare them for the market that actually exists — with direction and adaptability, not just the degree."

In other words, your older child's experience is most valuable as a guide to doing it better the second time, not as a reason to abandon the field.

Decide from the younger child, not the older one's scars

The most important principle: your younger child's decision should be based on their interests, aptitude, and fit — plus an updated, calm read of the field — not on the emotional residue of a sibling's hard time. A child genuinely drawn to computing, prepared with today's realities in mind, can do very well even in a tougher market. A child pushed away from something they'd love, out of fear from a sibling's experience, may lose a genuinely good path. Let the younger child's own fit lead, informed but not overruled by the older one's struggle.

Working out what the older child's experience actually teaches, and how to prepare a younger child well for the field as it is now, is exactly what the ProThink Parents & Mentors workshop helps parents do — so you guide each child from an accurate map rather than from fear.

FAQ

My older child struggled to find an IT job — should my younger child avoid IT?

Not necessarily — that's overcorrecting from a single data point. One child's struggle is shaped by their specific situation, timing, and preparation, not proof the field is closed. The honest lesson is usually "prepare differently," not "avoid IT." Base the younger child's decision on their own interests and aptitude plus a calm, updated read of the field.

What should I learn from my older child's job-search difficulty?

Usually that the old way of preparing for IT — relying on the degree alone — no longer works, and that direction, adaptability, and understanding the changed market matter. That's a lesson about how to prepare, not whether to enter. It's most valuable as a guide to doing it better with your younger child, not as a reason to abandon the field.

How should I decide my younger child's career direction?

From their own interests, aptitude, and fit, plus a calm and updated read of the field — not from the emotional residue of an older sibling's hard time. A child genuinely suited to computing, prepared for today's market, can do well even in a tougher climate. Don't let fear push them away from a path that might genuinely fit them.

Is IT a bad field to enter now given the tougher market?

No — it's tougher at the entry point but still one of the strongest fields, with real demand for people who combine technical skill with judgment and adaptability. The change is that preparation must fit the current market, not that the field is closed. Overcorrecting a child away from a field that suits them, out of fear, can be its own mistake.